USMCFLYR

FAA Investigating Laser Incident Involving CVG Bound Plane - :: Cincinnati news story :: LOCAL 12 WKRC-TV in Cincinnati

ABX crew got lased at 8,500' and was able to describe the origin of the beam to the vicinity of a large apartment complex.
Incidents continue on the rise this year.

bgmann

I saw this the other day on amazon.com. This marketing shouldnt be allowed.

Amazon.com: 5mw 532nm Military High Power Green Laser Pointer Pen: Office Products

A pilot at my airline just made it back to work after a year of medical leave. He had extensive eye surgery to restore vision in his eye after being struck by a laser. He only looked at it for half a second.

mike734

Your friend was probably not struck by a laser like the one for sale on Amazon (5mw strength). Lasers that weak are "safe" in that, short duration exposure will not permantly harm the eye. However, if you search the interwebs (Spyder 3 Krypton Green Laser Pointer | Wicked Lasers) you can find extremely strong lasers the will certainly cause permanent damage. They are expensive though ($250) so kids will probably be playing with a weak laser.

USMCFLYR

Kentwood Police seize laser after pilots report lights during landings | wzzm13.com

Near Kentwood (Grand Rapids), Michigan
KGRR - Gerald R. Ford International Airport

Rolf

A possible solution?
Retrofit this on commercial aircraft.

USMCFLYR

More media attention focused on the increasing threat of lasers.

FBI: Aircraft laser incidents up in New York | News - Home

USMCFLYR

An incident up in the POrtland, OR area with UA and JB reported in the article.

BBC News - Stephen Francis Bukucs 'aimed lasers at planes'

cardiomd

This sounds kind of crazy, but have any of you guys lasered yourselves? I'm thinking of getting together with a couple pilot friends to try to laser my airplane (not on final, perhaps in pattern on downwind, we'll be communicating via radio/CTAF).

I discussed with an ophthalmologist friend in detail, and it is perfectly safe from an energy / retinal damage point of view (consumer laser pointer, not high-powered laser). I'll be exploring how bad it is from a visibility standpoint, and will have a safety pilot who will cover his eyes during the laser activation just in the rare and bizarre case that I temporarily can't see afterward, will try right at end of civil twilight.

Things I want to find out are
1 How easy is it to locate where the source is coming from by the pilot? My friend will either be by the FBO, Tower, or parking lot, and we will see if it can easily be located.

2 Is the laser able to track the cockpit or does it flicker due to just handheld motion?

3 How blinding is it?

Perhaps I'll try to video the whole thing... wondering if anybody has done similar?

cardiomd

As Mike said, unlikely this was consumer device, or else half of the world would be blind from people that accidentally shine laser pointers during their powerpoint into the crowd. In fact, the "consumer grade" power limitations were made with that purposely in mind, such that the amount of time the laser would enter your retina is such that it would not cause damage due to blink reflex or hand motion at a distance of approximately 5 feet.

So, if you held a laser an inch from your face, forced your eye open, and looked right into it your retina could be severely damaged. However, even with a laser directly aimed at your retina your eye would reflexively close and you would turn away before there would be time to damage your eye.

The non-consumer grade (> 5 mW) this does not apply, your retina could be damaged before your eyelid would close. Was he exposed to an industrial laser / Class III or greater?

N9373M

Dangerous Laser Hazards for Pilots a Rising Trend | Video - ABC News